Level 2 charger for bolt

Discussion in 'Bolt EV' started by Vaik, Oct 5, 2018.

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  1. Vaik

    Vaik New Member

    Hi,

    I am new to the forum. We just bought a 2019 chevy bolt and are looking into installing a level 2 charger at home. Would anyone have any recommendations for the charger (EVSE)? Also what amperage should one go for? Many thanks!
     
    Robert Bratton likes this.
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  3. sniwallof

    sniwallof Active Member

    You are looking for a 32A 7.2kW charge system ("charge cord" or "charge station", the "charger is in the car"). I am very pleased with the Chargepoint home 32A charger with WiFi, gives nice data and graphs through their apps. It has died twice now, but they replace it right away including free shipping both ways, great company! I am hoping they solve whatever problems they have by the end of my 3 year warranty period! I recommend a EVSE with a wall plug, so you don't have deal with hardwiring changes if you need to send it back for a replacement.

    If you don't need fancy data collection, there are a lot of options, from the excellent and very reliable Clipper Creek EVSE to many others. Read about EVSE at the very active Honda Clarity forum, it's the same 32A L2 240V charge station over there.
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2018
    Robert Bratton likes this.
  4. Surlycat

    Surlycat Member

    I purchased the Juicebox Pro 40, plug in to the wall unit because it allowed me to alter the amperage setting to 24. We had an existing 210 volt plug that just needed an adapter. We hired an electrician to install the compatible plug and test the circuit could handle the power usage on 24 amps. All good....however....

    the juicebox unit has been very unreliable, going off line repeatedly. Went through all the support ticket maneuvers, checked wifi strength, signal, connectivity, blah-di- blah. Eventually, it would not completely charge the car - the Bolt showing an error message on the dash - unable to charge. According to EV Motorwerks, the unit should charge whether on Wi-Fi or not. Now the unit wouldn't charge at all.

    They sent me a replacement unit - good for 4 days. Same problem. They're helpful, but product is unreliable. I'll be looking for a replacement unit. Bought original unit in August. They're friendly folk, but their product sucks as far as the Bolt is concerned.
     
    Robert Bratton likes this.
  5. rgmichel

    rgmichel Active Member

    I have a 50A line with a 50 A breaker, which I had installed by an electrician for about $350. It has a NEMA 6-50 outlet in the garage. I plug a ChargePoint charger into it that I bought with a plug rather than hard wiring it. The 50A circuit is plenty adequate to provide the 32A max that the Bolt EV absorbs. The ChargePoint device provides some good output data from its mobile or computer software. I believe there are other devices that provide even more data, but I have never felt too much need for that. My ChargePoint has never broken, although the cradle, in which the plug rests when not in use, is a bit flimsy.
     
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  6. William Laven

    William Laven New Member

    Before you purchase a charger it makes sense for you (or a trained electrician if your knowledge is not up to snuff) to check out your breaker box and its load capacity to tell you how large a breaker you can put it. Rule of thumb is the breaker should be 125% of the amp draw of the charger so my JuiceBoxPro32 needs a 40amp breaker which is all my box (it's a subpanel on an outbuilding) would allow. Had I installed say a JuiceBoxPro40 I'd require a 50amp breaker which would have been pushing my breaker box. Once you've determined the max size breaker you can install (and considered plug location, expenses to wire, how much you can afford, etc) then get the highest amp charger you can for the fastest charges. JuiceBox, ChargePoint, Siemens are commonly recommended. And consider features - I like that the Juicebox is a small charger given where it's located and I like WIFI, too so that decided it for me. Good luck.
     
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  8. VanessaEEVE

    VanessaEEVE New Member

    I have a Juicebox pro75 and I am very happy with it. I have been using it for almost 2 years with no issues. You probably realize this but having a fast charger at home is basically required to make the Bolt useful.
     
  9. racerx2005

    racerx2005 Member

    I have the ClipperCreek HCS-50 hardwired charge station + charge guard and I’m happy with it.



    Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
     
  10. IVI-Guy

    IVI-Guy New Member

    I purchased a MUSTART 240v 32A Portable L2 EV Charger with the NEMA 14-50P plug. This allows me to charge at home and in an RV park while on the road if necessary. I've used it maybe a dozen times since I bought my Bolt LT June 1st of this year, so far so good.
     
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  11. JOHN PHILLIPS

    JOHN PHILLIPS New Member

    I thought the charging current limit is controlled by the car and you need to provide a circuit that will provide all the energy the car can take and there is no advantage to going larger unless you change cars?
     
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  13. AharonMc

    AharonMc New Member

    This is what I did also, for the same reasons. I bought it on Amazon for about $300 and it has been working great.
     
  14. larrenz

    larrenz Member

    If budget is not a problem, the Tesla UMC Gen 2 EVSE + JDapter Stub/TeslaTap is a good option.
     
  15. Spoonman.

    Spoonman. Member

    I have a ClipperCreek hardwired 3.3 kW unit that I use for both the Pacifica and the Bolt as needed. Unless you're fully depleting the Bolt's range every day, a lower-end unit should be plenty for home use.
     
  16. Tailwind

    Tailwind Active Member

    Several points to understand when buying an Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) device.

    First off, the EVSE is really nothing more than an extension cord that carries the electricity from behind the wall to the car. It isn't really a "charger". The charger is in your car. (Before someone blows a gasket, I realize that an EVSE is more than an extension cord. But for the purpose of this discussion, to think of it as only an extension cord will suffice.)

    There are two things that effect the rate at which you can charge your car, the rated capacity of the EVSE and the rated capacity of the car's charger. Whichever of those two devices has the lower rating is the limit on how quickly you can charge. So, you need to know several numbers to take full advantage of the available resources in order to get the most from charging your vehicle.

    1. What is the rated capacity of the charger in your vehicle?
    2. How large of a circuit can you install in your home for the EVSE?

    According to the Clipper Creek website, a Chevy Bolt has a 7.2 kWh charger installed in it. So, to get to 7.2 KWhs, you need an EVSE with a minimum rating of 32 amps to get the fastest charge on a Bolt. 32 amps multiplied by 240 volts equals 7.68 kWh.

    To install a 32 amp EVSE in your home, you will need a 40 amp circuit breaker. Per the National Electrical Code (NEC), to operate a 32 amp device on a circuit, you must have a fuse/breaker rated at 125% of the load. That means 32 amps multiplied by 125% equals 40 amps.

    You can buy any size EVSE you want. If you buy one that is rated less than 32 amps, then it will take longer to charge your car because the "extension cord" isn't capable of passing all the electricity to the car that it can take. On the other hand, you can buy an EVSE rated higher than 32 amps. You won't charge your Bolt with it's 7.2 kWh charger any quicker, but if you were to buy a car with a larger charger in the future, you would not need to upgrade your EVSE.
     
  17. JOHN PHILLIPS

    JOHN PHILLIPS New Member

    Everything you say here is very good. The only thing that bothered me is kWh. The rate if chare is measured in kW while the total char is measured in kWhs.
    The "charger" tells the car how fast it can charge and the car makes sure it does not pull energy faster than the extension cord can safely supply.
     
  18. Tailwind

    Tailwind Active Member

    John, you are correct, I used kWh in places where it should be kW. Thanks for the correction.
     

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